While the world struggles with democracy’s waxing and waning, art has democratized like nothing else. Artists can be found everywhere. Exhibitions now feature women artists almost as much as men, where there had been few to none at all just within our lifetimes. Into this flood of art has stepped Tony Godfrey. His new book, The Story of Contemporary Art has set itself the rather monumental task of explaining the state of art today, and how it got here. For those of us who can’t keep possibly up, it is a valuable tool.

Godfrey is a fan. He has managed to keep up over the past 40 years. He visits the exhibitions and biennales all over the world. He patiently absorbs what he sees, trying to find a way to appreciate it. He has done the research into the lives of the artists. It is not all New York and London. It is Kenya and Germany and Indonesia, Mexico, Canada and China. As a horizon-broadener, the book succeeds wonderfully.

The problem is the art itself. As Godfrey goes through the decades, readers will discover that painting died. It was “outmoded, exhausted, obsolete and reactionary.” Artists rejected it and resented it as limited and limiting. It has of course come back from the rubbish bin, but it has been superseded by a welter of alternatives like conceptual art, performance art, altered photographs, films, videos and what are known as installations. These pop-up, usually intensely elaborate structures, take up entire halls and are promptly dismantled after the exhibition.

The films do not circulate widely, performance art is ephemeral, and sculpture has become indecipherable. The art world is tilting towards anarchy. There are “so many different types of art, it is difficult to be responsive to all of them.” Godfrey rationalizes it by saying “However precious the object, picture or installation, it is the experience we might have when viewing and thinking about it that truly matters.” So art no longer speaks for itself.

None of it seems to be led by any kind of star. There don’t appear to be any artist giants. Godfrey admits “No one working today has the range of Picasso.” On the other hand, artists are doing better than they ever have. Their pieces sell for millions. The pools of money floating around the world have spilled into the pockets of artists, some of whom have become famous primarily because some piece of theirs sold at an auction for numerous times the estimated price. It doesn’t have to make sense; it’s the art market.
Like Godfrey, I have found that artists’ films tend to be way too long – numerous hours – and nothing whatsoever happens in them. This seems to be popular among artists. Less so among viewers. Installations are disposable. Sculptures leave no impression. Performance art is here and gone in an instant. It all seems so forgettable.

The difference I have noticed, that I hoped Godfrey would dispel, is that contemporary art always seems to need a crutch. It has to be explained to be appreciated. Merely seeing it is insufficient. One has to know about the artist, what environment s/he came from, what politics they profess, and what goals they have for their art. This is a layer of complexity that prior art does not suffer from. To me, art has value when you want to keep looking at it – for years. Art that you want to have in front of you all the time, and appreciate it for just what it is: strong theme, attractive/shocking subject, excellent execution, and most of all, an emotional connection. There seems to be enormously little of this in contemporary art.

Towards the end, Godfrey admits he has a tendency to agree. He even finds the contemporary artists he really likes are inconsistent. As they age, their work varies from fascinating to clinical to dull. Worse, it can become repetitive – just more of the same. “Compared to the previous periods, there is little consensus today on what is good and what is not... Judgments are further skewed because few art critics today are keen on painting.” To that, I have my own complaint to add: innovation without inspiration. The overarching need to appear different for the sake of being different.

The book introduces readers to a long list of names that will likely be unfamiliar. He does not dawdle on the household names very long, mostly showing how much money they are making. For the rest, there are necessary examples to show what Godfrey talks about. It is well-structured and most helpful. Sadly, it did not change my mind.

David Wineberg ( )

The Story of Contemporary Art by Tony Godfrey is a wonderful survey that touches most of the threads that run through contemporary art without getting either too bogged down or too obscure.

As a "story" it works very well, Godfrey makes connections and discusses what was responding to what. This is not, nor is it intended to be, an exhaustive deep history with mentions of every artist, it does include good representatives to make the story a coherent whole. If you're at all familiar with contemporary art you will likely feel that someone has been left out or someone included you don't think should be. Such is the nature of this type of book and to beat the subject to death says more about the reader doing so than the book. But thee delusional like to give the impression they are more qualified, so let the small people believe what they want, it isn't hurting anyone. This book points readers in directions to learn more or discover new movements, and that is important in keeping art alive and relevant and not an insulated unimportant luxury for the few.

Many readers, like myself, will be familiar with most of the artists mentioned, though not all. What Godfrey does for us is put all of these artists and groups in conversation with each other. More accurately, perhaps, is that he shows us what those ongoing conversations are so we can better understand the why of many of the works.

I would highly recommend this to both the casual art lover and the more serious connoisseur. Having a handy overview that connects some dots and contextualizes the work is always a joy to have around.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. ( )